Parkdale pirate-radio guru airs ‘community art project’
Show has been in operation for 3 years, broadcasting music its host says is undervalued
Dissatisfied with commercial radio, Andrew O’Connor decided to shake it up by tapping into Toronto airwaves to broadcast what is, in his opinion, righteous, underappreciated music.
Every Thursday the 38-year-old radio guru does just that with Disco 3000, a homespun show that’s been in operation for three years — his tag line: “Good music on the radio.”
“Nobody puts together a thoughtful program of music anymore, something that reflects a time in place, an emotion,” he said in his modest apartment. “There’s this notion that we have to coddle people’s ears and never challenge them.”
Pirate radio is rare in Canada and is more commonly found in remote areas, like First Nations reserves, O’Connor said.
He operates without a licence, making his work illegal, technically, but because the range is so limited, O’Connor doesn’t see a problem. “I’m under the radar,” he said. “It’s small enough that nobody really notices. The main things that will cause trouble are interfering with somebody else’s signal or broadcasting hate speech, neither of which I come anywhere close to doing.”
According to the Radiocommunication Act, interfering or obstructing radio signals is prohibited.
Every Thursday, 38-year-old radio guru Andrew O’Connor hosts a weekly show called Disco 3000. His tag line: “Good music on the radio.”
“Unauthorized radio broadcasting, including pirate radio, can cause interference to public safety radio operations and aeronautical radio navigation and communications and jeopardize the safety of Canadians,” said a spokesperson in a written statement.
O’Connor’s show, which can be found on frequency 87.5 FM between 9 and 11 p.m. every Thursday, was chock-full of genre-defying music. Sun Ra and Harry Partch were played — artists that fit within the experimental, avant-garde vein. Punctuated between sets was O’Connor’s crooning voice, guiding listeners through each song.
Last Thursday, O’Connor played Sun Ra’s “Unknown Kohoutek,” a song about a comet that was spotted in our solar system in the 1970s.
“If I had to describe it,” O’Connor said, “I’d call it polyrhythmic spiritual jazz, with Sun Ra’s classic organ wizardry.”
The broadcast is exclusive to Toronto’s Parkdale neighbourhood. A Star reporter walked around the area with a hand-held radio that evening to determine how far O’Connor’s signal would reach — feedback choked it out along Roncesvalles Ave., Marion St., Jameson Ave. and south of King St. W. If you find yourself with- in these parameters, however, the transmission will most likely be clear. O’Connor said there are many variables that can affect the broadcast, like weather and quality of the receiver.
He said no night is average, adding that he plays Motown and contemporary hip-hop at times, too.
Martin Watson, 34, has been tuning into Disco 3000 since its inception — he listens to it whenever he has a chance, he said.
“I get to hear all of these fantastic bands that I’ve never heard on (commercial) radio, outside a few college shows,” he said.
“The other thing is the freedom of the format.”
Watson enjoys the pure “physicality” of the experience.
“I’ve never felt the same sense of immediacy with anything online,” he said. “An analog radio show, you have to be ready at a specific time.”
O’Connor prefers his analog rig over the internet because of its oldschool way of reaching people.
“The fact that I can sit in a room listening to records and this magic box can take it to the antenna, shoot it out into the air and people around me with a different magic box can pull it out of the air and listen with me is a beautiful thing,” he said.
He’s been working in the radio arts industry for 20 years, freelancing and working on commissioned art projects across the country, which could help explain why he considers his show to be a “community art project.”
“I’m interested in someone who’s gonna come along for the ride,” he said.